Trump allies are poised to weaken protections for historic sites — not just in D.C.
Historic Preservation Protections Face Major Overhaul Under Trump Administration
Ecorescuezone.com – The Trump administration is preparing to implement a strategic workaround designed to address one of the primary procedural obstacles confronting its proposed 250-foot arch monument. This approach involves significantly weakening federal oversight mechanisms governing all construction projects that impact historic sites nationwide. Critics argue this maneuver will accomplish more than simply removing barriers for President Trump's controversial Washington, D.C. initiatives—it threatens to undermine the preservation of historic and cultural landmarks throughout the entire United States.
A National Treasure at Risk
"Every American who has any place in their heart that is historic or culturally significant to them should be concerned about this attempt to gut historic preservation protections," declared Greg Werkheiser, founding partner at the law firm Cultural Heritage Partners. The National Register of Historic Places currently houses over 100,000 properties, encompassing more than 1.8 million buildings, structures, sites, objects and districts. These protected assets take many forms, from a house to a burial ground, a shipwreck to a landscape, a single tree to an entire neighborhood.
"It's the thing that defines America," Werkheiser said. "The places that you go where your family has an attachment over generations … There are millions of these sites in this country, and all of them are made less protected by this effort by the Trump administration."
The Section 106 Framework Under Pressure
Part of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, known as Section 106, requires federal agencies to evaluate how new construction projects would affect historic places. Under the Section 106 review process, the federal agency overseeing a project must invite interested parties — like preservation groups and local and tribal governments — to weigh in. Currently, agencies are required to consider whether the project would cause "adverse effects" to a historic property and, if so, explore ways to "avoid, minimize, or mitigate" those harms.
The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the federal agency responsible for overseeing the Section 106 review process, is packed with Trump appointees. And now, 60 years after the law took effect, the council wants to water it down drastically.
"Because President Trump controls 21 of the 24 members of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, it's very likely that they will proceed with doing what the administration wants for them to do," said Sara Bronin, who served as the Senate-confirmed chair of the advisory council under President Biden.
Leadership Transition and Proposed Changes
Bronin is the most recent chair of the council, as that position is currently vacant. President Trump has yet to nominate a new one, instead appointing its vice chair, Travis Voyles, to serve in an acting capacity. Last week, Voyles sent an email to council members asking them to vote on proposed revisions to the wording of Section 106. According to draft language obtained by NPR, those changes include redefining what kinds of properties can be considered historic in the first place, making public comment on new projects optional and removing the requirement to consult with Native American tribes.
"What it means is that the federal government, in its own discretion, can decide whether — if ever — to tell an American community that it's about to do a major project that could harm or destroy a historic resource," Werkheiser said. "The public will be completely cut out of any conversation around the future of places that matter to them in this country."
Timeline and Legal Challenges Ahead
Council members were given just one week to cast their votes, via email, by the end of Friday. The revision would need to clear several more steps of the federal rulemaking process, including a roughly 30-day public comment period, before it can take effect. Werkheiser called the vote a "foregone conclusion," but said it sets the stage for a legal fight later.
"As sure as the sun rises and sets over Washington, D.C., there will be litigation in an attempt to stop this absurd gutting of protections of American history," he said.
After World War II, an era of urban renewal and federal highway construction destroyed high-profile buildings like New York City's Penn Station, and devastated many historically Black neighborhoods. The advisory council's memo describes that period as "one of the greatest, yet most destructive building streaks in American history." It prompted public outrage, and resulted in Congress passing the National Historic Preservation Act in 1966.
The White House and the Department of the Interior did not respond to NPR's request for comment regarding these proposed changes. The outcome of this vote will determine whether millions of Americans lose their voice in decisions affecting historic resources that define the nation's cultural landscape.